Chinese Studies: Digital Archives, Multi-Format Collections, Image Databases

A full-text image database providing online access to pre-World War II issues of four major government publications, namely, Administrative Report, Hong Kong Sessional Papers, Hong Kong Hansard and Hong Kong Government Gazette. It contains a wide range of information, such as official notifications, proceedings of the Legislative Council, statistics, and reports of government departments and special committees, which are essential to students and scholars in conducting research on Hong Kong.

An open access database providing a large number of books, newspapers, and magazines, and a smaller number of archival documents, images, and audiovisual materials, mostly from the first half of the 20th century. Materials relate to many topics, not just the second Sino-Japanese War and modern Sino-Japanese relations. It includes many literary works from the period. Individual registration is required to download materials (as JPG files). Some types of sources are searchable by tables of contents; none support full-text search.

Combines 18 databases of historical and literary documents and publications from the Qing to Rebublican periods. Produced by the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei. Individual registration is required, often separately for the various constituent databases.

The Harvard-Yenching Library's digital collection of propaganda posters from Manchukuo, the imperial Japanese puppet state established in Manchuria (northeast China) from 1932 to 1945.

Combines the postcards collections of Lafayette College, Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and the Harvard-Yenching Library.

Digital historical maps of Manchukuo.

Diverse collections of documents and images on historical, cultural, and institutional topics relating to Taiwan's past and present. Available in Chinese and English (click "English" in top right corner).

Combines 18 databases of historical and literary documents and publications from the Qing to Rebublican periods. Produced by the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei. Individual registration is required, often separately for the various constituent databases.

Public communiques from various Republic of China (Taiwan) government departments.

Searchable by person's name or keyword, this database provides facsimiles of original documents announcing ROC governmental personnel changes from 1912 to the present. Searches for individuals also yield timelines of their career appointments.

Provides national and provincial level documents from the State Council, which oversees government (as opposed to Party) organs. Includes selected laws and regulations, white papers, statistics, ministry documents, the State Council Gazette, and official press reports. Available in English and Chinese versions. Chronological coverage and search functions are limited.

Curating 1000s of documents from Chinese and international archives, this Wilson Center database offers insights into China’s foreign policy since 1949 and its relationship to ideology, revolution, the economy, and traditional Chinese culture.

Digitized collection of mass education materials from Hong Kong and mainland China, especially Shanghai, from 1947 to 1954. Features cartoon books, pamphlets, postcards and magazines on topics such as foreign threats to Chinese security, Chinese relations with the Soviet Union, industrial and agricultural production, and marriage reform, produced by both Nationalist and Communist supporters. Provided by the Center for Research Libraries.

Provides digital images of propaganda posters from the 1920s to the present, with a focus on the PRC. Includes 200 posters from the collections of the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, and Stefan R. Landsberger (University of Amsterdam, Leiden University). This site replaces the earlier "Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages."

Wiki-based repository of annotated resource links, including to books, databases, websites, and reviews of physical archives.

Provides a limited selection of PRC State and Party historical documents, organized into thematic collections.

Diverse collections of documents and images on historical, cultural, and institutional topics relating to Taiwan's past and present. Available in Chinese and English (click "English" in top right corner).

A full-text image database providing online access to pre-World War II issues of four major government publications, namely, Administrative Report, Hong Kong Sessional Papers, Hong Kong Hansard and Hong Kong Government Gazette. It contains a wide range of information, such as official notifications, proceedings of the Legislative Council, statistics, and reports of government departments and special committees, which are essential to students and scholars in conducting research on Hong Kong.

Includes all 4,200 titles (53,000 stitch-bound volumes) of the Harvard-Yenching Library's Chinese Rare Book Collection, among other collections.

Over 600 posters used in China for Christian proselytization from the early 20th century to the early Mao era. Curated by the Center for Global Christianity & Mission.

Provides digital images of propaganda posters from the 1920s to the present, with a focus on the PRC. Includes 200 posters from the collections of the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, and Stefan R. Landsberger (University of Amsterdam, Leiden University). This site replaces the earlier "Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages."

An open-access archive of digitized photographs, negatives, postcards, rare books and slides documenting the history of imperial Japan (1868-1945), its Asian empire (1895-1945), and occupied Japan (1947-52). Includes images of Taiwan, Japan, China, Korea, Manchuria, and Indonesia.